Sugar and Sin Bundle

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  Nic’s eyebrows shot up. “You’d give up everything for this woman?”

  He looked into his friend’s eyes. “It’s like I’m addicted to her. Morning, noon, night. She’s all I think about.” He checked his watch. “She left me ninety minutes ago, and I’m already going through withdrawal.”

  “Wait. What do you mean she left you?”

  “She said she couldn’t let me change my life for her. That I’d end up resenting her.”

  “Would you?”

  “No way. I’m so far gone, I’d fucking die for her.” He scrubbed his face. “In fact, I’m already dying without her.”

  “If you love a woman, you need to fight for her. Prove to Alyssa that she’s more important to you than anything else in your life.”

  “More fortune cookie advice, Nic?”

  His face flushed. “Rachel gave me shit when Lauren and I were having problems. That was the condensed version of what she said.”

  “Looks like you managed to leave the important bits out. Let’s get the women out here so they can tell me what the fuck I should do. I pretty much offered to change my whole life for her. I don’t know what more I can do.”

  “Maybe it’s not about doing more. Maybe it’s about doing less.”

  Doing less? Rémi peered at Nic. “Who are you? Yoda?”

  “Okay, hear me out. I’ve met women like Alyssa. They’re strong and independent. They radiate power and authority. For some, it’s who they are. For others, it’s who they’ve had to become. And they hold on to that with a death grip, because they don’t know how else to be.” He took a sip of his beer and locked gazes with Rémi. “I might be wrong, but I think you giving everything up for her scares the shit out of her. She’s wondering: what if things don’t work out? He’ll have nothing left. And it will be all my fault.”

  “When did you start channeling Dr. Phil?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Yeah, I’m fucked all right. So, what you’re saying is that I have to show her I have a life outside the rez.”

  “Got any ideas?”

  “If I have to, I’ll go back to the Montréal PD. But what I really want to do is work with others like me, the mixed-blood natives who the bands have kicked out, and those who the Canadian government labels non-Indians. I just don’t know what I can do to help, yet.”

  “When you figure it out, let me know. That’s something I’d be proud to back.”

  A lump formed in Rémi’s throat. Nic would stand by him, no matter what. He swallowed and pushed the words out. “I’ll take you up on that.”

  His phone rang. Still dazed by Nic’s offer, he answered without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”

  “This is Lieutenant Gauthier. Is Sergeant Morgan with you?”

  Rémi frowned and his heart rate took off like a rocket. “No. What’s going on, Lieutenant?”

  “Leroux lost her.”

  Cold sweat formed on his back. Had she been attacked again? “What the fuck do you mean he lost her?”

  “She sent him on an errand and when he came back, she was gone. Her rental car is gone too.”

  An ounce of relief eased some of the tightness in his chest. She’d probably just needed some time alone and had gone for a drive. But his fingers continued to grip the phone. Someone was still trying to kill her. And if she was alone, they might succeed. “What are you doing to find her?”

  “We put out a BOLO. Can you search the rez?”

  “Okay. But why?” After tonight, the rez was the last place she’d go.

  “We’ve got some new information.”

  “What?”

  “It’s classified.”

  “If it concerns Alyssa’s safety, you’d better fucking tell me.”

  The sound of Gauthier’s sigh reached his ears. “The Vipers have a mole inside the SQ. I imagine Sergeant Morgan told you. She told you everything else.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Landry. We busted him earlier today. He spilled under interrogation.”

  Fucking shit. The station commander was working with the Vipers? “Why was he trying to set up an SQ squad on the rez with Alyssa in charge?”

  “Because he thought he could control her. He even tried to blackmail her, but Sergeant Morgan has titanium balls. She refused to bend and came to me instead.”

  “Blackmail? Fuck. She didn’t tell me that.” He took a deep breath. “I still don’t get it. What do the Vipers have to do with the rez?”

  “The Vipers are working with the Guardians.”

  “To do what?”

  “Sell drugs. The Guardians are growing marijuana, the Vipers are going to sell it.”

  It had to be Pete. Chaz was too anti-drug to have anything to do with this scheme. “If what you’re saying is true, we’ll take care of this. Chaz won’t stand for any of his Guardians being mixed up with drugs.”

  Gauthier laughed. When he stopped, his voice was harsh. “Pull your head out of your ass, Whitedeer. Your cousin masterminded the whole goddamn deal.”

  Once again, he’d been utterly blind. He’d been less than ten meters from the shack; he should have gone inside. But it was too late now; Alyssa was all that mattered. “Does Landry know who put the hit on Alyssa?” Rémi asked.

  “That’s the best part. Lalonde is still calling the shots from behind bars. And guess who’s got the contract?”

  Rémi’s heart torpedoed into the floor. “The Guardians.”

  “Bingo, give the man a gold star.”

  Rémi ended the call as Kaden and Jake stepped out of the house with fresh beers. Standing, Rémi refused the drink. “I’ve got to go.”

  Kaden raised a brow. “Trouble?”

  “Alyssa’s disappeared.”

  Everyone froze and stared at him. “Does the SQ have any leads?” Kaden asked. Sitting back down, Rémi filled them in.

  Nic set his unfinished beer on the wooden planks and rested his elbows on his knees. “Whatever you need, just ask.”

  “Gauthier suggested I search the rez.”

  Nic, Kaden, and Jake all stood up at once. “Let’s go,” Nic said.

  Kaden shook his head at Nic. “You’re staying here.”

  “I know you’re only doing your job, but Rémi’s my best friend. There’s no way I can just sit back and let you guys take all the risk.”

  The raw honesty in Nic’s voice caused a strange warm sensation in Rémi’s chest. Nic had everything Rémi wanted, but Nic had gone through hell to get what he had. And he deserved to be happy. They both did. “You’ve got a new fiancée and a kid now. They need you to be safe.”

  He had to find Alyssa and convince her she was all he needed to be happy. Unless of course, she wasn’t missing but had decided to run off with Nitro. In which case, he’d have no choice but to step back and lick his wounds. A shudder tore through him as he realized that scenario was possibly the best outcome in all this.

  “I can handle a gun as well as any of you,” Nic insisted.

  Kaden stepped in front of his boss. “Look, here’s the bottom line. If any fighting breaks out and you’re there, Jake and I will be focused on you. At best you’re a distraction; at worst you’re a death sentence.”

  Rémi’s gaze darted between the two men. He understood exactly what Kaden was saying, even agreed. But… fuck. The big guy sure didn’t pull his punches.

  Nic folded his arms and stared into the eyes of his bodyguard, the angles of his face as sharp as flint arrowheads. After a few tense seconds, he nodded and turned to Rémi, gripping his arm. “I need you around to keep my ego in check. So don’t you dare get yourself killed.” An unspoken promise passed between them as Rémi returned his best friend’s grip.

  He wouldn’t try to get himself killed, but if Alyssa had run off with Nitro, he might want to.

  CHAPTER 26

  Pete grabbed a handful of Alyssa’s hair and pulled her out of his truck. She gritted her teeth against the pain shooting through her scalp. As soon as her feet hit the ground, he
yanked her off balance and laughed when she stumbled and fell against him. Jerking her head back, he sneered. “See Corey? She’s starving for my red cock.”

  Over my dead body. “Fuck you,” she growled, raising her knee and nailing him in the balls.

  With a strangled curse, he used his hold on her hair to throw her to the ground. “Bitch.”

  As she fell, he continued to grip her hair, ripping out entire clumps. The impact as she landed hard on her side expelled the air from her lungs in a whoosh. Agony sliced through the right side of her body. Resting her forehead on the ground, she forced herself to breathe through the pain. Jesus Christ, that hurt.

  Corey rushed to her side. “Pete, what the fuck?”

  “Forget her. She’s the walking dead.” Pete straightened and took a few steps.

  When he grimaced, Alyssa wanted to do a fist pump but with her arms tied behind her back, the best she could do was twist her swollen lips into a grin. She tucked her knees in so she could roll over and get up. Somehow she had to get away. Corey had gotten her in this mess, maybe he’d get her out of it. “You have to help me.”

  “I can’t.” He glanced toward Pete, who was walking off the kick she’d given him, his back to them.

  “You’re better than this, Corey.”

  His face turned mulish. “I’m worse. My girlfriend’s dead because of me.”

  “And if Pete has his way”—her lips curled back—“I’ll be fucking dead because of you too.”

  His fingers plowed through his hair. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. They said they’d kill me if I didn’t play along.”

  Pete turned to them. “Get on your feet, bitch.”

  She softened her voice. “It’s okay, Corey. Just help me stand.”

  He nodded and gripped her left arm to pull her up, but she slipped and her bruised shoulder slammed into the ground. Pain exploded in her arm, tearing a scream from her throat.

  Pete’s guttural laugh brought her back. “Didn’t know you had it in you, boy. Get her up.”

  Corey’s face flushed bright red. Eying her anxiously, he slid a trembling hand under each of her arms and set her on her feet. Once she was steady, he let her go and walked toward a small building she hadn’t noticed before. Looking around, she recognized the clearing where she and Rémi had seen the deer. And the hunter’s shack. “What is this place?”

  Pete crossed to them and shouted in her face. “Less talking, more walking.” Corey opened the door to the small structure, and Pete grabbed her injured shoulder, squeezed, and shoved her inside. She clamped her lips together at the searing pain, barely managing to skid to a stop at the top of a steep narrow stairway. Turning sideways, she made her way down the steps. Corey and Pete followed close behind. As she neared the bottom, a pungent smell flooded her nose. Cannabis. My God, Rémi was right.

  A hand between her shoulder blades propelled her into a long and narrow room. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the grow op. About fifty feet long by twenty feet wide, the white-walled space was filled with row after row of mature cannabis plants in hydroponic beds. Fans and red-tinted lights hung from the ceiling. A black tarp with a slit cut in it marked off the back area.

  On the streets, the crop would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her gaze swung around to Pete. Had he set this all up? She shook her head. He was cruel and ruthless, but an op of this magnitude required careful planning, organization, and, most of all, patience. Pete was more the hold-up-a-bank-and-run kind.

  “Well, well. Look who’s here.”

  Chaz’s voice slid over her like a sleet shower, freezing her through to the marrow in her bones. Was he behind all of this? None of it made any sense. “What’s going on, Chaz?”

  He swept his arm out, taking in the underground operation. “This is freedom, Sergeant Morgan. Freedom from white colonial oppression.”

  “Why am I here?”

  He walked up to her and leaned down, smirking. “You, my sweet piece of white ass, are here to die.”

  Alyssa’s stomach twisted into a knot as her hope bottomed out. She scanned the room, searching for a window, a door, anything. But the only way out was the way she’d come in. Desperate, she pivoted and charged to the stairs. Pete stepped in front of her, easily blocking her way. She kicked his shins and head-butted him, but he just laughed and squeezed her shoulder, the pain dropping her to her knees.

  Oh God, she was going to die, and the last thing she’d see was Pete’s crotch.

  A hand gripped the back of her shirt. “Enough of this shit. It’s time,” Chaz said, dragging her through the plant beds. He threw her into a wooden armchair pushed up against the black tarp. “Hold her,” he instructed Pete as he moved to a desk a few feet away.

  Maybe if she kept him talking, she could think of a plan to get out of here. “I don’t see how killing an SQ officer gets you closer to freedom.”

  He laughed. “You think this is about you? I don’t give a fuck about you.”

  “Then why kill me?”

  “Lalonde ordered it.” She sucked in a breath. “Oh yeah. I know all about your undercover, or should I say under the covers, work with the Vipers.”

  “So this is about revenge?”

  “Revenge for him, business for me. He gets your death, I get freedom for my people.”

  Pete untied her hands. She hissed when her injured arm dropped to her side. Laughing at her, he whipped her shirt off. The movement lifted her arms in the air. She bit back a groan as fire raced through her shoulder. Pete slapped her face, hard. Then he looped a rope over her wrist, anchoring it against the armrest.

  Chaz got something out of a drawer and came back around the desk. In his hand, he carried what looked like a hard plastic pencil case. Pete’s eyes widened when Chaz handed it to him. “You can do the honors. Consider it a reward.”

  Pete opened the box and took out a syringe, to which was attached a long thin needle. Alyssa’s mouth felt like it had been lined with fiberglass. Every swallow cut into her throat until she could barely get any air in. What the hell was in that syringe?

  Grinning like a maniac, Pete took the cap off the needle and tapped it as he pushed the plunger in. Liquid shot out the end.

  Chaz rubbed his smooth cheek as he paced behind Pete. “I bet you’re wondering why I don’t just shoot you.”

  Well, yeah. She was dying to know, literally. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking.

  “It’s a gift for Rémi. Did you know his mother died of a heroin overdose? I thought it fitting the other whore in his life die the same way.”

  Alyssa’s heart slammed against her ribs as the depth of Chaz’s hatred became clear. Killing her wasn’t enough for him. He had to destroy Rémi too.

  Chaz eyed the needle in Pete’s hand and smiled. “Say goodbye, sweetheart.”

  Alyssa’s mouth twisted into a sneer as she struggled against the ropes binding her to the chair. Despite how Pete had roughed her up, her spirit roared as bright as any bonfire. But it was a fire he’d take great pleasure in putting out. Fucking white SQ whore.

  Corey came to stand beside him. “Chaz, you sure about this?”

  “Hell yeah.” It was the perfect plan. He’d get rid of the bitch, Pete, and the weak link all in one night. “Tie her shirt around her bicep.”

  Crouching down, Corey picked it up off the floor. “Don’t help them,” Alyssa said, an edge in her tone. Was there finally a crack in the Snow Queen’s confidence? When the kid flashed him a look, Chaz glared. Corey averted his gaze and went to work, twisting the shirt around the bitch’s upper arm like a tourniquet.

  Pete got closer. “So I just jab this in her arm?”

  “In the vein.” Injecting the heroin into her muscles would have been easier, but injecting it in her vein would get them a faster reaction. And he was tired of waiting for her to die.

  “I’m no fucking doctor.” Pete stuck her with the needle and missed the vein by at least an inch. Chaz rolled his eyes. The man
was a bumbling idiot.

  “Need instructions?” Alyssa laughed, the sound a little high, a lot strident. Oh, yes. The Snow Queen was definitely melting.

  Chaz cuffed Pete on the back of the head. “Do it again, shithead. In the vein this time.”

  “Easy for you to say. Skinny bitch doesn’t have any fucking veins.”

  Alyssa batted her lashes and smiled at Pete. “You really need to stop complimenting me, Pete. Chaz might get the wrong impression.”

  Chaz thrust his hands deep in his pockets to keep from grabbing the needle out of Pete’s useless hands and sticking it in the bitch’s arm. “For shit’s sake. Do I have to do everything? Tap her fucking vein.” After a few overly eager slaps on the pale skin of her inner elbow, a pretty blue vein popped out for Pete. “Now slide the needle in, nice and smooth.”

  Pressing on her forearm, Pete jammed the needle into her vein. Blood bubbled into the syringe, combining with the heroin. Alyssa stiffened and her gaze jerked up to Corey’s face. “Please… tell Rémi I love him. Tell him I’m sorry. About everything.”

  Tears filled her eyes, but the stubborn wench refused to let them fall. She blinked several times in rapid succession, then glared at Chaz. Too bad Rémi would never get her message. No, he’d live his life never knowing, always wondering. Chaz laughed. Fuck, life was good.

  Pete depressed the plunger and the heroin flowed into her vein. She’d have a few minutes of euphoria before the nod-off stage kicked in. Then her heart would slow until it stopped beating completely. “Nighty-night, bitch.”

  “Fuck you,” she muttered as her head fell back and her eyes glazed over. Corey made a strangled sound in his throat and turned away.

  Pete laughed. “Suck it up, kid. She’s the fucking enemy. Scum. Less than nothing.”

  Chaz touched his fingers to Alyssa’s throat and watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed. Her lids closed and her lips curved seductively. Shit. Had they given her enough? Maybe he just had to let it work a bit longer.

  After recapping the needle, Pete dropped the syringe into his pocket. Then he handed Chaz the box. Chaz returned to his desk and threw the case into the drawer, slamming it shut. Now he had to wait.